Jantar Mantar Jaipur – An epitome of Engineering Brilliance

I had heard a lot about Jantar Mantar Jaipur before I visited here on my 3 days trip to Jaipur, along with Jaipur Palace and Hawa Mahal. But I was still left completely mesmerised and awe-stuck at the engineering brilliance of each equipment here. As I passed through each instrument, the one question that kept arising constantly in my mind was – “How could they build it back then!!”. Don’t know what I am talking about?

Let me take you on a tour of Jantar Mantar Jaipur today. And as you read through, you will realise why it is one of the most unique and most brilliant architectural wonders in India. Also, it is a UNESCO world heritage site, the second one we visited this year after our trip to Mahabalipuram. Another interesting thing that I must mention before starting this journey is that these instruments that were constructed centuries ago, still work today. And that also with absolute precision!! Before I start off, I will highly recommend you take this guided tour of Jantar Mantar Jaipur so that you get a proper understanding of the instruments here and are able to appreciate their genius.

A brief Introduction to Jantar Mantar Jaipur

The word “Jantar” literally means “instrument” and “mantar” means “formula”. The name Jantar Mantar is so apt. Since this site contains a lot of instruments, based on formulas & mathematical calculations. These were built in an era when printed calendars, mechanical clocks, modern instruments to calculate the latitude and longitude and several other such scientific and mathematical instruments were not at all in existence.

So, these instruments were built inside the campus that we today know as Jantar Mantar. Using the angle of sun and the way sun rays fall through these instruments all through the day, they tell the exact time of day, month of year, date, season, latitude, longitude and what not!!! All using the sun and it’s shadow, the movement of the celestial bodies . And to the absolute precision!

Thus Jantar Mantar is an astronomical observatory – a one of a kind built centuries ago. It was built by Maharaja Jai Singh II. And the instruments here were used by the royal astrologers and time keepers. In fact Maharaja Jai Sing II constructed 5 Jantar Mantars in India. The one in Delhi and Jaipur are the most famous ones. The other 3 are in Mathura, Varanasi and Ujjain. Having said that, let me take you through a walk of the major instruments at Jantar Mantar. Jaipur. These include :

1. Ram Yantra
2. Yantra Raj
3. Jai Prakash Yantra
4. Rashivalyas Yantra
5. Samrat Yantra
6. Digamsa Yantra
7. Nadivalya Yantra
8. Daksinottara Vitti
9. Unnatamsha Yantra

The Instruments of Jantar Mantar Jaipur

Ram Yantra

A set of two instruments , calibrated, which help measure the height of the sun in the sky, basically it’s distance from earth, is what Ram Yantra is. The altitude of the sun is calculated based on the shadow that the sun forms on these calibrations. Moreover, the altitude can be directly read from the instrument itself. Isn’t that amazing?

Yantra Raj

The instrument Yantra Raj predicts planetary positions. It is a set of two huge metal archs on which you can see several circles. And if you observe closely you will even see the planet positions marked on these. There is a hole in the centre to insert a telescope and observe the planetary positions. And then based on that, the instrument was rotated to align the planets on it to the ones seen in the sky. Then from these positions, and using mathematical calculations, the lunar calendars were derived. And horoscopes formed. Both for individuals and also for the empire.

Jai Prakash Yantra

This instruments predicts the zodiac month of the year. It is formed like a hemisphere of the earth. Inside which you can see several lines representing the latitudes and longitudes. And the zodiac signs are also marked on it. Finally, there is a metal sheet suspended on the top. The way it works is that, the shadow of the metal sheet falls on the lines below. And based on the position of the sun, the precision of the shadow varies through out the year. The changing position of the shadow helps predict the changing zodiacs through the year!!

Rashivalyas Yantra

The word “Rashi” in hindi means “Zodiac”. It is not one but a set of 12 instruments, each representing one zodiac of the year. These 12 instruments are placed in such a way that at any time in the year, the sunrays fall on only one of the 12 instruments. And that is the zodiac month at that time of year. So, basically it predicts the sun sign at any point of the year. First, the Jai Prakash Yantra predicted the zodiac sign. Then the Rashivalyas Yantra was consulted to know the exact position of the sun and the stars within that zodiac. And then based on that the royal astrologers predicted future events and happenings based on these positions.

Samrat Yantra

The Samrat Yantra is a solar clock. As, it tells the time of day based on the shadow formed by the sun.The surface of the instrument is marked with lines that indicate the hour, minute and second precisions. I was wondering after looking at the Samrat Yantra if the modern clock was actually invented after drawing inspiration from this genius instrument. Actually, there are two Samrat Yantras in Jantar Mantar Jaipur. One is bigger and is called “Vrihat Samrat Yantra”. (Vrihat in Sanskrit means big). And the other one is smaller and is called “Laghu Samrat Yantra”. (Laghu in Sanskrit means small)

Once you derive the time of the day from Samrat Yantra, you will need to add a precision based on the time of the year. This precision is displayed on a board near the entrance. So, do make a note of it. We did the same. And when we checked the time on the Samrat Yantra, added the precision to it. And looked at our watch. Guess what? The time exactly matched!! While the smallest precision that you can get from the smaller Samrat Yantra is 20 secs, the bigger one gives a precision upto 2 seconds. And it’s so huge that it is the biggest sundial in the world. There are stairs to climb up the Samrat Yantra. But visitors are not allowed anymore now a days!

The guide told us that in ancient days the royal astrologer would climb to the top of the clock. And put a white flag there. The direction in which the flag swayed and it’s angles were used to predict the monsoons that year!!

Digamsa Yantra

This one is a cylindrical instrument. It is used to calculate the planetary position of the celestial objects. It has two pillars on both the sides. This instrument was used in particular to calculate the time of the sunrise and sunset. It is hard to believe how so accurate forecasts of the sunrise and sunset could be made by calculating the way sunrays fell on the Digamsa Yantra. And the angle of the shadows formed!!

Nadivalya Yantra

A very simple, yet fascinating instruments. Its dial looks so similar to the modern watch. After looking at it, I was sure if not Samrat Yantra then this one was definitely the one that inspired the modern clocks that we hang on our walls! One side of this instrument represents the summer season while the other side represents the winter season. And the shadow cast from the iron needle tells the time. How simple, convenient and yet brilliant!!

Unnatmasha Yantra

This one is a circular instrument. It is divided into four major segments, divided by horizontal and vertical lines. And is used to calculate the altitude of different celestial bodies. Using the hole, a telescope is used to see the position of the planets in the night sky. And then calculate the corresponding altitude based on the angle at which it lies to the position in the Unnatmasha Yantra. These instruments deploy all three ancient coordinate systems of the five celestial coordinate systems known.

To be honest, initially I was in two minds about visiting Jantar Mantar Jaipur. I was much more excited to explore the vast Amer Fort. Visit the unconquered Nahargarh Fort. And capture a sunset at Jaigarh Fort. Then there is Hawa Mahal, City Palace of Jaipur and so many other attractive places to visit. But the more I went inside Jantar Mantar and explored the instruments, the happier I felt at my own decision to visit here. In fact, I was simply blown away by the brilliance and accuracy of these instruments. They just prove how knowledgeable, brilliant and innovative were the people of ancient India. In short, it is a must visit place.

General Tips on visiting Jantar Mantar Jaipur

1. There is hardly any shade inside Jantar Mantar Jaipur. Visit in the winter months, and still I will suggest, visit early in the morning or around 4pm in the evening. The observatory is open all through the year from 9:00am to 5:00pm.
2. Wear comfortable cloths, comfortable walking shoes and a hat or umbrella for sun protection.
3. Carry a bottle of water with you.
4. The visit to Jantar Mantar Jaipur can be easily combined with your visit to the city palace of Jaipur and Hawa Mahal as all three are located in close proximity and are walkable from each other.
5. You can also take a combined entry ticket to Jantar Mantar, Hawa Mahal and City Palace of Jaipur. Here’s a combined guided tour to these attractions that you can take.
6. A guided tour is recommended as the guide will help you understand each of the instruments and how they work.

 

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